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November 3, 2011
DISABLED SENIORS LOSE RIGHTS TO HOUSING
When a senior in a nursing home either goes to a hospital for a brief stay or has the opportunity to spend a night with their family, MassHealth would pay the nursing home to hold their bed so that when they return, they could go back to their room. After all, this is their home! This “bed hold” program would safeguard their room for up to 10 days.
On Thursday, October 27, 2011, Governor Deval Patrick vetoed a provision in the $169 million Supplemental Budget; slashing the $6 million funding that would have restored the bed hold for nursing home residents.
This means that starting on November 1, 2011, a nursing home resident who is temporarily hospitalized or away overnight visiting family, will have to privately pay the nursing home to hold their bed, or risk having it rented to someone else. Their belongings will packed into boxes and they will become homeless.
HOW WE GOT HERE – For as far back as I can remember, MassHealth has paid for holding a nursing home resident’s bed if they were hospitalized or visiting family overnight. The FY 2012 budget cut the bed hold. Our Representatives and Senators then restored the bed hold with the Supplemental Budget, then Governor Patrick vetoed the $6 million bed hold funding last week.
WHY THE VETO? – When a senior leaves the nursing home to go for a brief hospital stay, MassHealth ends up paying the hospital and the nursing home. The Patrick administration claims that on any given day there are 4,400 available beds, so why should he pay the nursing home to hold someone’s bed when there are so many available?
THE PROBLEM – Although there are empty nursing home beds, they may not be in the same facility or town. Nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia who are faced with going to a different nursing home will suffer dealing with a new location and new staff – they have lost their home and won’t know why.
POSSIBLE ABUSE – Let’s say a nursing home has a resident who requires extraordinary care, a “problem” resident. What is to stop the nursing home from sending the resident to the hospital and renting out their room to an easy to care for patient?
Is this any way to treat our elderly? Placing a loved one in a nursing home is stressful enough. I believe our legislators should and will do something to restore the bed hold. I’ll let you know when things change.
This article gives general information and not specific advice on individual matters. Persons wanting individualized advice on matters discussed should contact an advisor experienced in those matters. To the extent this article provides information on legal matters, it is based on law in effect in Massachusetts on the date of posting (laws in effect in other states are often quite different).
Ronald H. Surabian is a CPA and attorney who works at the Elder Law Center in Saugus, Massachusetts. He also holds Masters in accounting and a Masters in tax law. He currently serves as the President of the Friends of the Saugus Senior Center and is an active member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. If you have any questions, please call me at the Elder Law Center, One Essex Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781)233-4444. To view this or any prior article, please visit our web site at www.elderlawcenter.org